Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1)(14)

I don’t know these people and they don’t know me and my dad’s outside and not inside and these people could have tempers and they could hurt me and...

“I’m aware I have no rights to my daughter,” Eli snaps. “I’m the one who signed the damn papers!”

“Baby,” Mom says in my ear. “Say goodbye to Eli and leave. The cab is waiting.”

“Okay.” I focus on my shoes. I never want to wear them again. “I’ll see you soon.”

Even though Mom’s still talking, I end the call and drop the phone to my lap. Eli, on the other hand...

“No, Jeff. Let her stay... No. No.” He opens his mouth to speak again and then lowers the phone to look at the screen. “Fuck!”

I flinch with the anger shaking out of his body and Eli swears again under his breath when he notices. “Dammit, I mean...I’m sorry, Emily.”

“It’s okay.” I comb my fingers through my hair and pretend to be interested in the strands. Mom said Dad’s outside and I’m going to ignore any reason for why he can’t make it in. It’s not because I’m trapped here. It’s not because these people are trying to force something I don’t want.

This is okay and I’m going to be okay. Deep breaths in. Long breaths out.

“Call her back,” Olivia says to me. “Call Meg back and tell her you’re staying.”

My hands tremble as I pick up my purse and slip my phone into the pocket. “She told me to leave.”

“Do you always do what you’re told?”

I cling tighter to the handles on my bag. My mom told me to come home. Home. A place that is safe and familiar and nothing like this insanity. This place is scary and confusing and... “She’s my mom.”

“Don’t, Mom,” Eli mumbles under his breath.

“And you’re seventeen,” Olivia points out. “Old enough to make this decision.”

“Barely seventeen,” I whisper.

“Leave her alone,” Eli says. “It’s me you’re upset with.”

Olivia wheels around. “Not you. Your daughter is caving to that woman and I’m tired of Meg telling us what we can and cannot do with our flesh and blood!” She rounds on me. “McKinley blood runs in your veins. Take a stand and tell them you’re staying.”

My wrist begins to itch and I scratch, not caring that it will make the welts bigger. Hives, my Achilles’ heel. The physical manifestation of the chaos inside me. I slowly stand, but not in the way she desires. “I need to go. I’m sorry.”

“Eli!” It’s a plea, and it causes guilt to ripple within me. I glance out the window and catch Oz watching me from the hall with his thumbs hitched in his pockets. He lowers his head and shakes it.

“She’s a good kid,” Eli says in defeat.

“What does that mean?” Olivia yells.

Eli pushes off the wall and settles his hands on Olivia’s shoulders like he did with me earlier. “It means she’s a good kid. She’s a good kid with good friends and she makes good grades at a good school and lives in a good neighborhood in a good house in an even better community. She’s a good kid with a great life and every now and then I get to be a part of it. Think about what Meg’s given her. Think about what we really have the right to demand.”

Olivia crosses her arms. “You mean she’s locked up in a safe padded world and she does everything everyone tells her.”

“Yes.” Eli nods. “And she’s happy.”

My would-be grandmother studies me and for some reason, she appears to pity me. “And that is sad.”

Oz

HOOK AND PIGPEN guard the door to the office, and it’s a good thing, too. Otherwise I probably would have bolted in and shaken the hell out of Emily.

My teeth grind as I witness the drama unfolding through the window. Olivia, the strongest woman I know, is close to tears. She’s been the focus of my life since I was a child, and I’ve never seen her this way. Not when she discusses the son she lost around the time of my birth. Not when she told me I wouldn’t be living with her anymore when I was eight. Not when she hurts year after year as she marks another passing of Emily’s birthday with no contact from her or Meg. Not when she found out she has greater odds of being hit by lightning than surviving the cancer.

Tears. Olivia’s eyes are glassy and she lifts her chin like she doesn’t give a damn, but there’s only a fragile veil of pride hiding her devastation.

Emily stands in the middle of the room with her purse in her hands, looking completely lost as Olivia cups her face. Fuck Emily for hurting Olivia. Fuck Emily for returning and ruining this day.

The door to the office opens and Eli walks out. Hook and Pigpen grant Eli their undivided attention and Eli points at me. “I need you in on this, Oz.”

I slide closer and the four of us create a tight circle. Eli talks so only we can hear. “Pigpen, clear this hall. Hook, tell her father we’re taking Emily out the back. I want a wall of leather cuts giving her shade, do you got me?”

They mumble their agreement and Pigpen rounds to face the crowd. Like a lot of the brothers in the club, he’s ex-military. The voice of the six-two, massive former Army Ranger rumbles against the walls. “If you ain’t a brother, clear out!”